Forget me Not
by Pari
Summary: Bonnie will discover that some secrets can't easily be forgotten. BAMON! If Bamon isn't your cup of tea, please don't read this. If you do read please feel free to review. I sat for a couple of days working this out and typing it up in completion. I hope you all enjoy it. Thank you!
1. Chapter 1

"Oh God," She gasped out as she gripped the edge of the table that she was settled on top of. Her head fell back against the golden-hued wallpapered wall behind her, and she bit down upon her bottom lip, squeezed her eyes shut, and willed herself to keep inside the scream that wanted out. She made the mistake of opening her eyes and looking down at the thick dark tresses atop the head that was currently buried between her legs. "Mmmhmm," She moaned out and fought against the hold he held on her thighs as she gyrated and thrust her hips to get better friction. He also moaned out his pleasure as he lapped up her delicious nectar. It delighted him and drove him to near delirium that with a simple touch or a whisper in her ear he could make her so wet for him, all for him. And the taste of her was better to him than anything that had ever touched his tongue. "I'm so close … I need … Please, I need," She panted out as her body hummed and shook slightly with her desire and a hint of her oncoming orgasm, she would have done anything at that moment to achieve. Her excitement rewarded him with a wave of her sweetness, and it sent his senses into overload and filled him with his own need, the need to possess and claim her forever. When he gently slid his fangs inside her inner left thigh, close to her apex where only he could see it, they both instantly found the release they sought.

* * *

"Hey, where did you disappear to?"

"Sorry, I had to make a call," He answered as he took his seat back beside her at the massive table where they and their friends had gathered for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner.

"Damon, I know you really didn't want to do this," Elena said as she placed a hand on his thigh under the table and leaned into him more. "I appreciate you doing it. I just think we have so much to be thankful for. The past 3 and a half years have been life changing for all of us. Caroline saving Josie and Alaric's twins and now planning a life together with Stefan. Bonnie finally being able to break Kai's spell over me to wake me up, and bringing you and I back together. Where is Bonnie anyway?" She then asked with a slight frown as she looked across the table where her friend had been seated and noticed she was no longer there. At that moment Bonnie appeared in the doorway of the huge Salvatore dining room, just as Caroline who had planned and cooked the entire dinner was just heading out to grab more rolls from the kitchen and check on the twins who were napping in the study.

"Hey, Bonnie, where did you disappear to?" She paused to regard her friend.

"Uhm, I just went to the little girl's room," Bonnie answered and then took note of the way Caroline frowned and sniffed a little.

"Are you bleeding?" She asked as she glanced over Bonnie's body in concern. "Oh," She gasped out as she moved Bonnie back out of the room for more privacy. "Bonnie, is your period on?"

"What? No, why … wait can you smell 'that'?" Bonnie questioned horrified at the thought that vampires could smell when her period was on.

"Well, yeah, but also I can see that you're bleeding," Caroline replied as she pointed to the trail of blood that was slowly rolling down Bonnie's left inner thigh, from beneath her black cocktail dress. Bonnie's eyes enlarged as they fell to the blood trail. "Hey, don't worry, just go up to Damon and Elena's bathroom, Elena's human again and I am sure she has something you can use. Then go to mine and Stefan's room and grab my black cocktail dress, remember I bought the same one. Luckily for you we're virtually the same size," Caroline said with a smile as she tucked a lock of Bonnie's tresses behind her ear.

"Thanks, Care," Bonnie said as she then hurried to the stairs. She simply moved to one of the many guest bathrooms to clean herself, and before she could close the door a hand slipped through the crack to stop her.

"Are you okay?" A concerned voice spoke out as the door was pushed back open. Bonnie stepped back to allow them entrance.

"No, I'm not okay, Damon," Bonnie huffed out in a hushed tone for fear of them being overheard. "You bit me, again, and this time Caroline noticed the blood," She announced as she grabbed a rag from the towel rack, wet it with warm water. She then sat on the closed toilet seat, parted her legs with the intention to clean herself. But before the rag could touch her flesh, Damon was already on his knees before her. He pushed her hand away and dropped his mouth to the blood, which he began to licked up. "Damon," She half gasped and half moaned out as her hand settle atop his head and her legs opened wider for him. "Please stop," The hint of sadness in her tone made him stop and lift his eyes up to her tear-filled ones. "I can't do this anymore. We can't do this. We aren't being fair to Elena."

"You were the one who was hellbent on waking her up," He stated in an almost accusatory tone.

"Well, yeah she's one of my closest friends. And I thought that's what you wanted too," She replied a bit stunned by the bitterness she heard in his words. "You really wanted me to just let her sleep for 70 some years or until I died unexpectedly?"

"I had resigned myself to that, yeah," He answered. "And every day without Elena grew easier and easier."

"You mean you didn't miss her as much this past year and a half because you had me here as your fuck buddy," Bonnie spat out at him as she averted her eyes down to the wet rag she pressed to her inner thigh.

"That's bullshit, Bonnie Bennett, and you know it," Damon growled out in irritation. "What we've experienced goes much deeper than just a fuck between buddies. Don't cheapen it that way," He announced and his words only riled her up more as she hurriedly stood from the toilet tossed the bloodied rag into the nearby waste basket and glared at Damon as he slowly stood.

"You can't have us both, Damon," She hissed out. "At least not anymore. You have had your cake and eaten it too for weeks now, sleeping with both me an Elena, but that ends now, right now."

"It's only been you Bonnie," He said softly through a sigh, so softly that she was sure that she had not heard him right.

"What?"

"I have not touched Elena sexually since you awoke her from Kai's sleeping spell," He announced as she looked up at him in surprise and disbelief.

"And you expect me to believe that? Damon, I know first-hand just how insatiable you are sexually and how obsessive you've always been when it comes to Elena."

"You know what, feel free to ask her if you don't believe me," He countered a bit exasperated. "But I think she already suspects you're the reason why as she has not had one of those girlie chats with you about it yet, has she? And I know that she has talked with Caroline about our nonexistent sex life," This made Bonnie frown up and panic a bit in concern and fear that Elena might suspect something was going on between she and Damon. "Don't do that, Bonnie," He admonished seeing her guilt written all over her face. "Don't make this all your fault. You've done nothing wrong."

"No, nothing," She replied with a sad smile as the tears began to well up in her eyes. "Nothing except I've been sleeping with one of my best friend's boyfriend, behind her back."

"I'm not sorry."

"Of course, you're not sorry," She hissed out at him through gritted teeth. "Because she'll always forgive you. You have done the most unforgivable things Damon, and Elena has forgiven you every single time. But would she be as forgiving to me?" She questioned her current thoughts and fears out loud as her tears finally fell.

"I meant that I'm not sorry for loving you, Bonnie, and I will not apologize for how I feel, how you make me feel. Not even to Elena. And I will not give 'you' up either," Damon declared and his words stunned her for a second. He smiled kindly at her shocked expression as he reached his hand out and gently grazed her knuckle across her dampened cheek. "Is it really so hard to believe that I would choose you over Elena? I've done it before, you know," And he had nearly four years prior when Elena had first fallen under Kai's spell.

"What are you saying, Damon? Are you really standing here telling me that you think you're in love with me, that you want to give up what you have with Elena to be with me?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying," He said with such conviction that for a split second she truly believed him. "I love you Bonnie Bennett and I know you love me too, so don't you dare deny it."

"I won't, I can't," She stated as she shook her head slightly, "I do love you Damon," She closed her eyes and let out a sigh as she finally confessed how she had felt for a long time. "I don't want to love you," She crumbled a little as her sobbed shook her entire body and Damon quickly enveloped her into his arms to console her. "And I have tried desperately not to love you, I swear to God I have, but I can't help it."

"It's not your fault, I'm just irresistible," He joked to try to get a laugh and he smiled a bit when he heard her giggle against his chest where she had her face buried. "It is impossible for any mere mortal to resist my charms."

"I do love you Damon, so much," Bonnie said as she clutched him more tightly.

"And I love you too," He replied as he welcomed her embrace. "We will tell Elena together and come what may we'll face that together too. Then, I'm taking you on that trip to Paris and then around the world. The time away will be good for us all."

"That sounds nice," Bonnie sighed, sniffed back her remaining tears, and then pulled from the hold Damon had on her. She looked up at him and could see the love he felt for her shine through as he stared back at her. She reached up and lovingly cupped his face in her right hand. "I'm sorry Damon," She said softly and his face frowned up a little in confusion. "Obliviscor ut diligatus," As soon as the words fell from her lips an amber flash of light lit Damon's blue eyes for a millisecond. He rapidly blinked a couple of times before he finally focused back onto her. "Thanks Damon," She started speaking again as she wiped at her tears and took a step back.

"I'm sorry? What happened?" Damon replied as he eyed his surroundings and tried to remember how they had gotten there.

"You mean besides me being a mess and ruining Thanksgiving dinner, oh nothing," She said and he scowled a little as he tried to recollect what it was that she was talking about. "I guess I'm just a bit lonelier and weepier during the holidays without Enzo here and I really have no one. Then I have to watch all of my friends be happily in love and living their happily ever after," She sniffled and Damon focused onto the petite woman before him who had become his closest friend and confidant. All earlier thoughts about losing time left his mind as he tuned into is seemingly distraught best friend.

"Hey, you're never alone Bon-Bon. Not so long as I'm around and well, I am immortal," He joked hoping to get a smile, which she immediately obliged him already knowing his tactics.

"Thanks Damon," Bonnie said with a nod. "We better get back to the table before Caroline flips out and Elena rallies up a search party."

"All right, but you're okay now?" He asked and his genuine concerned was evident on his face and hinted in his tone. Bonnie nodded her head before she spoke again.

"Yeah, I'm good. Thank you for coming in to check on me. You go ahead. I just want to do something with my face, pretty it up a bit before I come out."

"You're breathtaking, Bonnie," He threw out casually and his complementary words stunned his own ears but at the same time felt so true and natural to him. "Uhm … Yeah … I'll just leave you to it, and let everyone know you'll be out shortly," He stammered as he moved to the door. Bonnie nodded as she watched him open the door, hurry across the threshold, and shut the door behind him. She had to clutch the sink to support herself, as she clamped her free hand over her mouth to keep in the mournful sob that wanted out. She clamped her eyes tightly closed and cried inconsolably. She had been working on a spell that would make Damon forget their affair, forget his feelings of romantic love for her. She had battled with herself about whether she would cast the spell. Apart of her wanted her to think about herself for once and have the love she had always dreamed of and knew that she had finally found with Damon. However, her hero complex and selflessness made her think of Elena, who she felt had already been through so much and had lost so much time due in part to her allowing Kai to escape his prison. So, in the end she had decided she would make Damon forget their romance so he could give Elena the happy life he used to promise her. Bonnie could have made herself forget their love too along with every passionate encounter, but she just couldn't give that up. She would keep it all and hope that it would sustain her and keep her content on those cold lonely nights to come.


	2. Chapter 2

**Two Weeks Later**

* * *

Half way through the last year Bonnie had gotten enrolled back into Whitmore, after taking a couple of years off to go into hiding with Enzo, who helped protect her from the Armory. Now she was back at it with a vengeance and she busied herself in her school workload, purposely taking extra credit assignments. It kept her mind off of Damon and gave her an excuse to use when he'd call wanting to hang out. Also, she had worked out her curriculum with the college counselor and determined that if she worked hard and completed all the extra credit assignments, she would be able to earn her degree in under a year. This would allow Bonnie to fulfilled her plans to finally graduate and then leave to travel to Europe. She had worked her butt off in all of her classes, and now she was going to graduate in a few weeks' time. She hadn't shared her plans with anyone except Damon but now he was clueless due to her spell. She only planned to let everyone know once she had arrived at her first destination, Paris, France.

It had been a surprise when she got the text message from Elena to meet up to have lunch at the Grille. They really hadn't spent much time together since she had awoken Elena from Kai's spell. Bonnie had assumed it was simply because she and Damon were in some sort of honeymoon phase. But upon later reflection after what Damon had told her in the bathroom, she realized that Damon had come to her almost daily and sometimes a couple times daily for a tryst. She knew that him being a vampire would give him the stamina to satisfy them both but he didn't have the ability to extend hours in a day, and he had spent most of his time with her. She was a bit nervous about why Elena wanted to meet and her anxiety increased as she walked into the Grille and spotted Elena, who waved her over.

"Hey," Bonnie greeted Elena friendly as she took a seat across from her.

"Hey Bonnie," Elena said in reply as her smile didn't quite reach her eyes which Bonnie took note of. "How have you been? We haven't seen you much around the boardinghouse. And honestly, I feel like we haven't spent any time together just catching up, since I came back."

"I know and I'm sorry about that," Bonnie offered. "I've just been so busy trying to get back into the college life. And I figured you'd want to spend some time with just you and Damon, you know to get reacquainted," Elena nodded her head as her smile faltered a bit.

"Yeah, well you didn't have to bother about that," Elena tossed out almost bitterly.

"Is something wrong?" Bonnie asked as her face held true concern as she looked over at Elena.

"Honestly, I don't know and I was hoping you could help me to figure it out."

"I can try, what's up?"

"Is there something going on with Damon?" Elena blurted out and Bonnie's eyes enlarged a bit as she swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. "I mean, I've asked Stefan and he told me about what happened to Damon and Enzo when they were controlled by a Siren named Sybil. He said it really took Damon to a dark place, darker than he's ever been and that that has likely changed him forever," She gushed out and Bonnie sighed a little in relief as she listened. "So, I've tried to be understanding and really supportive, you know, give him time but…"

"But what?" Bonnie coaxed although she was sure she already knew what the issue was.

"Damon won't touch me," Elena replied as she leaned in closer across the table and spoke in a lowered voice. "I mean we kiss and make out a little sometimes, but we haven't made love since I got back," She added and Bonnie sat stunned to hear from Elena's own lips what Damon had told her 2 weeks ago.

"I…I'm sorry Elena…"

"Don't be, I mean, it's not like it's your fault," Elena said as she waved her hand dismissively at her friend and guilt that Bonnie had managed to forget about for the past couple of weeks stirred within her again. "But has he said anything to you?"

"No, I haven't even seen or spoken to Damon for a couple of weeks. I've just been so busy with my school work," Bonnie replied honestly.

"Yeah, believe me I know. Damon's been Mr. Broody and grumpy lately, so if you could do me the favor of stopping by sometime to see him, I'd greatly appreciate it," She said with a slight groan and pout. "I meant before, did he ever say anything to you about what's wrong? It is so out of character for Damon to not want 'me'," She stated and Bonnie had to fight to keep herself from rolling her eyes at the woman seated across from her.

"Sorry, Elena, but Damon and I don't really talk about each other's sex lives," Bonnie said.

"Do you think you could talk to him, though?"

"About why he's not having sex with you? Elena, I would feel really uncomfortable having that kind of conversation with Damon," Bonnie stated as she shook her head slightly. Yeah, she felt guilt over her affair with Damon, which apparently had quenched his desire for Elena, but it was not so much that she would try to talk to Damon about it. She had already given up her happiness to Elena by making him forget their affair and she had no more she was willing to give.

"Well, you could be more discreet about it … I don't know," Elena blew out frustrated air as she buried both of her hands through her hair as she bowed her head a bit. Regardless of what had happened, Bonnie still hated seeing her oldest friend is such despair, and know that she was partially the cause made her want to fix it. Bonnie had been sure that once she had cast the forget spell over Damon he would once again focus all of his desires onto Elena, but apparently, that had not been the case.

"All right, I'll call Damon, invite him to dinner, and see what I can find out … Something."

"Thank you, Bonnie," Elena replied as she lifted excited eyes to her friend with a huge smile upon her face.

* * *

**Sometime Later**

* * *

She was surprised when she had finally placed a call to Damon's cell that it went straight to voicemail. She wondered if he was paying her back in kind as she had been sending his calls straight to voicemail for nearly two weeks.

"Hey, Damon, uhm…it's Bonnie," She spoke into the phone as she unlocked, opened, and then entered her single dorm room. She had chosen to complete her college life without a roommate since Caroline had graduated a couple of years ago and Elena had opted to take sometime before she enrolled again. "I've finally got a break from all of my school work so I thought maybe we could grab some dinner and catch up," She continued as she removed the bag she had across her body, attached across one shoulder. "Well, if you're interested give me a call back," She then hung up and stared down at the phone in her hand. "I miss you," She added around a sigh. "Aaaah!" Bonnie cried out as someone suddenly grabbed her from behind and turned her to face them. She was just readying to use her magic when she noticed who the attacker was.

"If you missed me so much why have you been ignoring my calls, Ms. Bennett?" Damon questioned as he held up his hands before her and started to wiggle his fingers. Bonnie's eyes enlarged as they locked onto his hands. She slowly took steps back from where he stood but in turn Damon took steps forward.

"I haven't been ignoring you," She quickly defended and she raised her own hands and pointed her finger at him. "I swear I haven't. I've really been busy with my school assignments, Damon," He looked at her through squinted eyes as he regarded her as if he were trying to decide if she were telling the truth.

"Nope, don't believe you," He said right before he pounced, tackled her back upon her bed, and began to tickle her mercilessly.

"Noooo….Ahhh…Hahahahaha!" Bonnie screamed, cried, and laughed all at once as she tried to block his hands unsuccessfully. "UNCLE!" She yelled the code word that would get him to stop. Damon stopped immediately but still kept her pinned beneath him on the queen-sized bed. He smiled devilishly down at her as she continued to giggle while she caught her breath. "You're a monster," She panted out around laughs as she settled more comfortably under him.

"That's right I am little witch so you just remember that the next time you think about not returning my calls and avoiding me," Damon replied. "And I've missed you too, by the way," He spoke more softly as he reached out and twirled one of his fingers within the beautiful loose curl she had styled in her hair.

"Why? I thought you'd be happy to spend more time with Elena. You know, your girlfriend who until recently had been asleep for 3 years," She offered as she absentmindedly plucked at the collar of the black buttoned-down shirt he wore. This all felt comfortably familiar to them both and neither was in a hurry to move.

"Yeah, but she's not the only lady in my life that I want to spend time with," He tossed out and that was like a splash of ice cold water for Bonnie and she was brought back to the present where she and Damon were not lovers anymore and this was really inappropriate behavior. She wiggled beneath him as she tried to push him off, he wouldn't budge but instead smiled down at her. After a few seconds of them wrestling they both stilled and locked large, slightly horrified eyes onto each other. They had both noticed his erection that was now nestled between her opened legs and right against her hot center. Damon knew he should have gotten up and Bonnie knew she should have insisted that he moved, yet they both remained as they were. They both panted their hot breaths against each other's faces. He dropped his eyes from hers and focused onto her lips as he slowly leaned down closer to her. She knew this part well and knew that he would kiss her and touch her in the most delicious ways. Just as she knew she had no willpower in that moment to stop him. It was a loud cracking noise that killed the moment. "Ooow!" Damon yelped as he fell to the floor.

"Oh my God, Bonnie, are you okay?" A mousy black girl who didn't look more than 16 years-old stood at the foot of the bed with a bat raised above her head. She was ready to strike again if needed.

"Is she okay?" Damon barked out from his spot huddled on the floor where he clutched the back of his now bleeding head. "I'm the one over here with possible brain damage."

"Alicia?" Bonnie spoke out and then noticed a very pissed off Damon now standing up from the floor. She quickly hopped up from the bed and placed herself between them. "Damon, are you all right?"

"Yeah, but I am seriously thinking about biting your friend," He said around a sinister smile and the girl flinched a little at the threat as she clutched the bat close to her chest. "Don't you know how to knock?"

"I did … I'm sorry, but I heard Bonnie scream and you didn't answer when I knocked. So, I came in and found him on top of you. I panicked because I thought you were being attacked. I'm really very sorry Bonnie," The young girl directed to Bonnie who smiled kindly at her.

"Don't be sorry," It was Damon who spoke out. His earlier anger completely dispelled. He actually appreciated that Bonnie had a neighbor who would come to her rescue without hesitation to the danger she may have walked into. "It's a good thing that you all look out for each other," He added as he rubbed at the small knot on the back of his head. "But just so you know I am not the bad guy, I'm the best friend and we were just having a … tickle fight," He offered as he briefly cut his eyes over to Bonnie who purposely avoided eye contact with him.

"Oh … well, I'm really sorry Mister," Alicia apologized.

"My name is Damon."

"Hi Damon, I'm really sorry and it was nice to meet you. I'm just gonna go now," With that Alicia walked back out the open door, shutting it behind her.

They stood silent for a few moments. Bonnie busied herself with picking up the pillows Damon had dislodged when he tumbled from the bed while trying to avoid eye contact with him. Damon in turn stood watching her every movement as if he were watching some mystical creature. When she had nothing else to focus on Bonnie finally faced Damon with the full intent to pretend that nothing had happened.

"So, you hungry? My treat," She offered with a huge plastered on smile and Damon tilted his head to the side as if he were trying to gauge something about her that just was not clear to him yet. The way he stared at her made Bonnie uneased but still she held her smile and kept up the pretense.

"Yeah, I can eat," He finally replied and looked as if he had just been snapped out of some hypnotic trance. "And it's my treat," He countered as he moved to the door, opened it, and stood back to allow her to exit first. She inwardly sighed in relief that he seemed to want to ignore what had nearly happened between them. But she knew him well enough to know that he just needed time to reflect and that sooner or later he would bring it up and want to analyze it.

"After the way I have neglected you for the last couple of weeks, I feel it's only fair that I pay for dinner," She said as she grabbed up her bag and light jacket and stepped out the door with Damon close behind her.

"True, but the southern gentleman in me can't allow it. Just think of it as one of the perks of being best friends with a rich person," He offered with a shrug as he casually draped his arm across her shoulder as he had countless times since they had become close friends, but this time both felt a physical charge from it. Bonnie knew what it was but it stunned Damon so much that he stopped while Bonnie walked on a way.

"What's wrong?" She played dumb as she stopped and turned back to him.

"Didn't you feel…" Damon started to question the sensation but had quickly decided not to. He didn't want to alarm Bonnie unnecessarily and his rational side told him it was nothing. However, there was his gut feeling telling him that something was going on. First, he had gotten a major hard-on while playing around with Bonnie. He had spent countless times tackling and tickling her senseless and never once had his body ever reacted as it had just a short while ago. Again, his rational side told him it was only because he hadn't touched Elena since she had woken up and he was super horny, but that rational side couldn't explain to him exactly why he hadn't touched Elena yet. He had always desired Elena and wanted her with every fiber of his being. Just looking at her could set him off and fill him with uncontrolled passion for her. Now, lately, he would look at her and wonder what it was that he actually saw in her and desired about her. Questions that seemed to go unanswered.

"Damon?" Bonnie's concerned voice and the feel of her hand upon his arm pulled him back from his internalizing. "Are you okay?" She asked as she started to worry that her forget spell was having some unforeseen side effects on him. Damon blinked a couple of times as he focused down upon Bonnie's face as she stood closer to him. He honed his eyes onto her lips and was so compelled by the sight that he reached out, grasped her face with both hands, pulled her close as he leaned down, and he captured her mouth into a mind-blowing kiss which had them both sighing. There they stood at Bonnie's dorm room door, holding on to each other. Completely lost in the taste of the other's mouth. Despite all her reasoning for ending her affair with Damon and even creating a spell to make him forget it all, it had not been Bonnie who would end their kiss. In fact, she had mournfully groaned and moved closer to follow when Damon pulled away.

"I'm sorry," Damon quickly apologized as he gently shoved her away from him and took a couple of steps back, as if afraid that he would be tempted to grab her again. "Bon, I don't … I don't know why I did that. God, I'm so sorry," He looked over at her wearily to where she stood hugging herself while she nibbled at her bottom lip. To him it looked as if she were on the verge of tears due to his violation upon her, when in fact she was simply fighting herself to not undo the spell and reclaim this man that she'd come to love desperately. Before she could decide one way or the other Damon quickly turned to make a hasty exit. "I need to go. Raincheck on dinner, okay?" Before she could reply or even blink, he had flashed away.


	3. Chapter 3

**Sometime later**

* * *

The second he had crossed the threshold of the back entrance to the boardinghouse's kitchen he had planned to turn around and spend the night elsewhere. However, his plan had been thawed by Stefan and Elena who were both currently in the kitchen eating and conversating.

"Damon?" Elena's surprised voice filled the space between them. "Why are you back so soon? Bonnie had mentioned during our lunch today that she was going to take you to dinner."

"Something came up last minute," He mumbled out. "And I had to cancel."

"What?" Stefan questioned as he eyed his brother and noticed that there was something worrying him.

"What, what?" Damon countered not fully understanding.

"What came up that made you cancel with Bonnie?" Stefan asked. "Usually, you'd drop everything and clear your entire calendar when it comes to spending time with her," He added and a stunned Elena shot her eyes over at him upon hearing this news, though he hadn't noticed as she just as quickly averted her eyes down to her plate.

"Just some prior engagement that I forgot about. I'll have dinner with Bonnie some other time," Damon answered vaguely as he moved to the fridge, opened it, and pulled out a packet of blood.

'I'm sorry to hear that, I know you have been kind of missing your bestie lately," Elena said as she tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. Damon watched her and could see how insecure and mildly sad she appeared and he felt guilty because he knew his neglect of her was the main cause.

"Don't be, now I get to spend more time with my favorite girl," Damon declared with a wink and Elena beamed up at his words. It was then that he realized he had to force the smile that he tossed back. In clear revelation, he knew without a doubt that he didn't want to be there with Elena at all, but instead he wanted to be with Bonnie. "How about we go to dinner and a movie?"

"I'd really love that, Damon," Elena replied as she stood from where she was seated at the table. "Just give me 10 minutes to go freshen up and I'll be right back down," She added a she hurried from the room. The second she had disappeared around the corner he dropped the façade and his smile morphed into a frown. He had completely forgot that Stefan was still in the Kitchen and had his eyes keenly set upon Damon.

"Damon," Stefan called to him gently and caused Damon to snap his eyes to him. "There is something going on with you, tell me what it is?"

"There's nothing going on little brother, you just have a very over active imagination," Damon replied as he plastered on another fake smile.

"Wow," Stefan said as he stood and moved to stand in front of his older brother, where he then folded his arms across his chest. "Your usual convincing lies seem lacking lately. Damon, I can tell that something is going on. I know that it has had you so preoccupied that you have been ignoring Elena since Bonnie woke her up. I also know that whatever it is it has everything to do with Bonnie."

"Stefan, I don't know what-"

"Look, Damon, I know about you and Bonnie. I've seen you two and I know you and Bonnie have been…" Stefan started but abruptly ended his words at the truly confused look Damon was giving him. He could clearly see that his older brother had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. Which led him to conclude that Bonnie may have had something to do with his fleeting memories.

"Well, go on … Bonnie and I have what?" Damon huffed out as he stared at Stefan curiously. He really wanted to hear Stefan's words in the hope that it would explain the feelings he had discovered he felt towards Bonnie.

"Uhm …" Stefan back peddled as he tried to conjure up something plausible to say that would cover up what he had nearly just exposed. "Well, I know that you two have become very close, even more so the time that Elena was asleep. N…Now, Elena is awake… and I've noticed … yeah, I've seen that Bonnie hasn't been coming around much lately."

"I know right? She's been blowing me off for nearly two weeks," Damon chimed in and was slightly elated that someone else had noticed what he suspected was happening. "I went to her dorm to confront her about it today…" Images of Bonnie beneath him with his engorged member pressed against her center and her delicious mouth upon his flashed in his head. He clamped his eyes shut and shook his head a moment to clear the vivid thoughts. "But … Uh … she wasn't there," He lied though he knew Stefan would pick up on it instantly, and just as Stefan was about to call him out on the lie Elena reemerged in the kitchen with a huge smile on her face.

"I'm ready," She announced the obvious as the two brothers smiled back at her, both genuinely happy to see her so happy, and happier than either had seen her since she awoke.

"And you're beautiful too," Damon threw her his true thoughts in that moment and she blushed and gave him the sweetest smile. "So, what movie would you like to see?" Damon questioned as he moved to her and offered her his arm, which she looped with her own.

"Well, I don't know what's out now so you decide," She replied as she turned and headed to the exit. "We'll see you later Stefan," She tossed out as she glanced back at the other man in the kitchen.

"Yeah, you two have fun," Stefan called out after them. He then waited until he heard them leave out the front before he flashed out the back.

* * *

The knocking was insistent which made her hurry, while the volume of the knocks made her scared. She had gone to her Grams house to spend the night because being in her dorm room only made her think about what almost happened with Damon earlier. Once at her grams she settled into a nice hot bath, but hadn't enjoyed it long before the banging at the door.

"I'm coming," She called out as she bounded down the stairs. She tightened the sash of the black satin robe she wore before she unlocked the front door and yanked it open. "What in the hell is so urgent?" She barked out before she realized who it was standing in the doorway. "Stefan?"

"What did you do to Damon?" Stefan asked as he moved around her and entered the house. She looked after him baffled as she closed the door and locked it once more.

"Stefan, what-"

"Your little spell you cast on him," He answered her incomplete question as he turned to look at her. She gulped the sudden lump that had formed in her throat as she looked back at him with wide frightened eyes. "Shit! I thought maybe I was wrong, maybe it was all in my mind, but that face you're making right now says I'm right. What did you do to my brother, Bonnie?" His voice rose in irritation and slight outrage and she flinched because she had never been on the receiving end of an angry Stefan Salvatore. At least not while he had his humanity turned on, which she now wondered about as she watched him wearily. "What did you do, some kind of memory wiping spell, right?" Her silence told the truth. "Why would you do that to him, mess with his head … violate him like that?" She could see the slight anger and more palpably the worry in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, I…I," She knew that she really had no words that would soothe him.

"No, don't apologize to me, save it for Damon. Although, I honestly don't know if he would ever forgive you for it?" He stated and Bonnie's eyes widened more in fear at the thought that Damon wouldn't forgive her action if he were to ever find out. "No, he doesn't know and I don't plan on ever telling him," He said in the hopes to quell her obvious fear. "Just tell me why you did it. Was it because you two are lovers?" He asked and she looked as if she might faint from his words. "Yes, I know you two have been seeing each other for a while, I accidentally saw you once through the window."

"It's because of Elena," She began and he was not surprised by what she said next. "She's someone I love, someone Damon loves too," She stated. "What we did was a betrayal to her. It was wrong. A…and," She paused to calm herself as her voice buckled a little and the tears she tried to will away still fell. "I knew it was wrong to do and I always felt so horrible afterwards. But I still couldn't stop. I'm sorry for casting a forget spell on Damon, I'm so sorry. But I didn't know what else to do. I don't know what to do. I just thought that if I made Damon forget our affair, it would stop because he'd focus all of his attention back on Elena, like before," Her face crumbled with the sob that fell from her mouth. The months and months of guilt over cheating with Damon, betraying Elena, and now the guilt she felt for casting a forget spell on Damon finally washed over her. She fell to her knees before him as her body shook under her wailing. She rocked herself a little in comfort as she looked up at him with pitiful eyes. "I know it was bad," She said and Stefan's heart broke for her. He kneeled before her and grasped her shoulders in both of his hands. "I'm bad, I'm a bad person…" She cried inconsolably as she let her head fall forward to settle against his chest.

"No, Bonnie," He spoke softly to her as he pulled her into his embrace and stroked her hair. He suddenly felt like shit confronting her this way, because now he could clearly see that she was riddled with guilt over it. He understood why she had done the spell. It had been to once again put the happiness of others before her own. But this time he honestly felt that it may be too much for this petite yet powerful witch to bear. "You're not a bad person. You're the best person I know. And you're the best friend Damon has ever had. I know that if you felt that you had to cast this spell, then you had a good reason," Stefan tried to console her as he sat on the floor holding her in his arms, while she clung to him as if he were her lifeline. "Damon isn't fully aware of it but I think he suspects something is off. I don't think that you will make him forget that he loves you Bonnie, and I know that he does," She frowned up a bit at his words as she sniffled back her tears. She pulled herself back a little from his arms so she could look directly at him. "If your goal was to make him forget how he feels for you and just go back to making Elena the center of his everything … well, it hasn't happened. I think we both know that when Damon loves he loves hard. And Bonnie I could tell that he'd fallen in love with you a while ago," She closed her eyes, shook her head and bowed it. "And you're in love with him too, right?" He probed and although she kept her head bowed to him, she did affirm his question with a nod. "That's beautiful Bonnie and there's nothing bad about it or wrong with it."

"But…" She started to speak but he cut her off.

"No, buts. Will how you and Damon feel about one another hurt, Elena? Yeah, probably, but she will eventually move on from it. I did when she fell in love with Damon, remember?" Bonnie let that sink in, because she had completely forgotten the whole Elena love triangle with the Salvatore brothers, and how Elena had ended up with Damon. She recalled the time she had asked Elena about it, about why she would choose Damon over Stefan. Elena had told her that she couldn't help it, that for as much as she had loved Stefan there was something about Damon that drew her to him. At the time Bonnie couldn't comprehend how anybody would or could fall for the likes of Damon Salvatore, she bitterly laughed at herself now. In the end Elena had summed it up by say, you can't help or control who you fall in love with. No matter how hard she had tried to not fall for Damon, her heart had other plans. Bonnie truly got what Elena had meant now.

"Yeah, I remember and I also recall that I thought it was crappy how Elena and Damon could do that to you," Bonnie stated as she frowned a bit at that thought, which brought her guilt back to the forefront. "I don't want to be 'that' kind of person, that kind of friend. I don't want to do that."

"But you have already done it Bonnie, you've just use magic to try to brush it under the rug. But I think you need to work on that spell because it's not ironclad, the cracks are showing. With Damon's suspicious nature I won't be a bit surprised if he figures out what has happened. Then there's you," He added and she looked at him curiously. "It's destroying you keeping this secret. Why didn't you make yourself forget too?" He asked the question that she had often asked herself probably a million times already. She bowed her head a little as if trying to hide from him.

"I've only ever loved one other man so passionately and I magically and permanently made a part of myself forget how much I had loved him just so I could cope with losing him. Now, I think the pain of living without him would have been more bearable than not having those memories. When I try to remember it all and I can't because I made myself forget, it makes me cry. I won't do that again. I love Damon, I really do … desperately, and even though I can't have him now I still have the memories of when I did and I'll always cherish them," Stefan bowed his head, closed his eyes, sighed a bit, before he opened his eyes again to look at Bonnie.

"Bonnie, I am so sorry that I took Enzo from you. There is nothing that I can ever say or do to make that right or make amends for it."

"You're right there's not, but I have forgiven you for it, Stefan. After it happened, I was so sure and so determined to bring him back. I'd done it before, right? But in the end I couldn't and the grief from it became too much, so much that I did cast an irreversible spell to make me forget. Not everything but enough to allow me to move on and hopefully love again. And I did but with the wrong guy."

"Damon," Stefan said and she nodded.

"At first, I just told myself that we were both lonely and just seeking solace in one another, but after the first time we made love, I knew that I was in love with him. After the second time I could feel that he loved me too. It was amazing and so good to feel that again, you know? We were in our own little world whenever we were locked away in bed together. Nothing else mattered, no one else mattered either. Until one night I mentioned that I planned to go to Paris after graduation and Damon just invited himself along. He started telling me about the time he had lived there and about how he would show me all the best places. That he owned a home there where we would live. I was so excited and so fucking happy. Then in an afterthought he told me that he had planned a vacation like that once for Elena but it never happened and boom, just like that it all came crashing down. The reality of what we were doing began to strangle me. But I continued our affair for a couple of months after that, but each day it felt like a little piece of me died inside. Here I was sleeping with Elena's boyfriend while she slept under a spell that was cast on her because of me. I think that was the catalyst that allowed me to open my mind and really delve deeper into my abilities and it was then that the magic spoke to me. I was able to create the reversal spell to undo what Kai had done and wake Elena up. I was so happy when she opened her eyes and so heartbroken at the same time, because I knew that for a second time, I would lose the man that I loved," She said sorrowfully. The two remained on the floor silent, neither knowing what else to say on the matter. Finally, Stefan broke the silence as he reached out and stroked her cheek with his hand and captured her attention.

"Bonnie Bennett, our little sacrificial lamb. Why do you always put everyone else's well-being and happiness before your own?" He asked not really expecting her to answer. She didn't and so he continued. "You've done so much for all of us countless times. You've even died to protect the people you love. That still amazes me," He then began to stand up and then held out his hand to help her stand as well. After a moment's pause as she sat staring at his offered hand, she grasped it and allowed him to pull her up. "I think," He spoke more as he moved his hand to her head, brushed is fingers through her hair, and tucked her tresses behind her ear. "It's time for Bonnie Bennett to have her happily ever after. If that means running off to Paris with Damon, then I'll buy the first-class tickets for you. And if anyone is left heartbroken, too bad, they'll get over it."

"I couldn't do that."

"Why not? Why do you have to be so sanctified? Let me ask you this, if the tables were turned, Damon was your boyfriend, and it was Elena who had fallen in love with him, do you think she would just give up and walk away for you and the friendship that you two have?" Bonnie truly stood contemplating the idea even though she already knew without a doubt that Elena wouldn't have given up. "Bonnie, Damon loves 'you' and from what you've just told me he was planning to end things with Elena to be with you. It's not right nor fair of you to take that choice away from him. You should remove the spell, tell Elena how you and Damon really feel about one another, and just let the cards fall where they may."

"Or I … I could just hold out for three more weeks, graduate, and then go to Paris like I planned … alone," She countered. "Out of sight, out of mind, right?" He wanted to shake her and tell her those words were just a cliché and held no real merit and he had been alive long enough to know this. Instead he smiled at her warmly as he stepped to her and placed a gentle kiss upon her forehead and then moved to the door.

"When it comes to the heart and matters of love, not even the most powerful of spells can truly conceal it. This is likely to cause you more harm than good, Bonnie. But just know that now I know the secret too, so if it becomes too much for you to handle you are not alone, and you can always come to me if you need to talk."

"Thank you, Stefan, I will probably take you up on that too," She said with a slight smile and he smiled back and then opened the door.

"Goodnight, Bonnie," He spoke again as he walked out the door.

"Goodnight, Stefan," She replied right before he closed the door behind him.


	4. Chapter 4

**The Next Day**

* * *

She had wearily entered the boardinghouse to meet up with Stefan. He noticed her uneasiness as she moved about as if she were expecting someone to jump out at her at any moment.

"It's all right, Bonnie, neither Elena or Damon are here," Stefan reaffirmed what he had already told her over the phone when she had called him. She sighed loudly and she let her shoulders drop a bit as she turned to face him.

"Thank you for letting me stop by," She said.

"You've always been welcome to stop by anytime, even before you and Damon became friends, you know that," Stefan countered as he led them into the kitchen where he had already prepared some lunch for them.

"Yeah, but I meant thanks for letting me stop by soon after our chat to bother you with my troubles, but you're the only one who knows the truth and today has just been a bad day," She stated as she took a seat at one of the stools next to the large island in the kitchen.

"I told you I am here to listen, so tell me what's going on."

"Well, yesterday during our little pow-wow I forgot to mention that earlier that day Damon stopped by my dorm room," She began and he nodded.

"Yeah, Damon had said something about that but lied and said you weren't there. That was what made me realize that there was something going on that I knew I had to talk to you about."

"He said that I wasn't there? Why would he lie about that?" She wondered.

"Honestly, it felt like it was because Elena was in the room and he was trying to cover up something that happened. Did something happen?"

"Yeah, it did. It started out like normal, well normal for us before we started sleeping together. I did something that Damon felt wronged him in some way and to make amends I'd have to endure one of is tickle attacks which he wouldn't stop doing until I cried uncle," She said and didn't even realize that she was smiling and giggling as she recalled heir little game. "Well, he had me pinned down on my bed tickling me mercilessly, but then things changed and for a second it was like he had all of his memories back about us being lovers. His body … reacted to mine, you know?" Stefan simply nodded to acknowledge that he understood that Damon got a hard-on. He had wanted to comment that most men, himself included would have reacted the same, but he didn't want to interrupt her train of thought. "My body reacted too and we nearly kissed, and I know had we kissed it would have ended with us making love. Then, we'd be right back where we started before the spell."

"What stopped you?" He questioned.

"My neighbor, she heard my screaming from being tickled and thought I was being attacked. She walked in and saw Damon on top of me and she conked him on the head with her bat," She said with a slight laugh as she took in the amusement on Stefan's face.

"Oh," Stefan chuckled out as he absentmindedly reached up and rubbed his head as if he actually felt the pain. "I know my brother was not happy about that."

"No, he had a murderous gleam in his eyes, but I honestly couldn't tell if it was because of the smack to the head or because we were interrupted."

"I'd wager it was both. And that explains how oddly he was acting when he came home afterwards. He looked like he was in deep thought when he walked in, before he noticed Elena and I were in the room."

"I bet, he probably was thinking what the hell just happened between me and my best friend who I have never had any sexual or romantic inklings for," She replied and Stefan shook his head.

"No, it wasn't that. Contrary to what you might believe, Bonnie, Damon has had many sexual thoughts about you. He was just more vocal about them back when you two acted like you hated one another. It was always, 'That Bennett witch, I don't know what I'd like to do more snap her neck or fuck her into insanity'. His feelings when it came to you were always very … passionate, let's say," He confessed as she sat beside him with her mouth agape in shock. "And to be fair he's not the only Salvatore man who has had some impure thoughts about you," He added and her eyes doubled in size as her mouth dropped more at this news. "Bonnie, aren't you aware of how majorly hot you are?"

"Oh, I know you're not trying to make moves on my best friend, are you little brother?" Damon's voice had both Bonnie and Stefan snapping their heads to where he stood just in the doorway. Neither, particularly Stefan, hadn't heard him come in. They had been so engrossed in their hushed conversation to notice. Bonnie gulped as she noticed that murderous gleam in Damon's eyes that she had spoken about to Stefan just minutes before. Why did he look so mad she wondered? She also felt a little panicked at what he might have heard them discussing before he made himself known.

"Damon, how long have you been standing their eavesdropping on our private conversation?" Bonnie asked as she tried to put on an irritated façade as she often did when he misbehaved in her opinion. Usually, it would have him looking almost shameful and giving her an immediate apology. However, this time he simply tossed her a glance before locking deadly eyes back upon his brother.

"Long enough to hear Stefan confess to having nasty thoughts about you," Damon answered. "You are my brother but Bonnie's like family to me too, and I will defend her honor if I have to."

"Which, you don't have to," She quickly cut in just as Elena walked in and stopped to stand beside Damon. She leaned against his frame and wrapped her arms around his waist. Bonnie averted her eyes to the floor but not before she noticed Damon look directly at her. For his part he leaned his body away from Elena and against the door jamb and folded his arms across his chest. He couldn't fully rationalize why he suddenly didn't want to touch Elena after they had spent the afternoon together running errands in town. He had graciously indulged all of Elena's excessive PDA. Something in his mind finally clicked and it became blaringly clear to him in that very moment that the reason he recoiled from Elena's touch, the reason he had not felt any sexual desire for Elena since she had awoken, and the sudden jealous flare towards his brother. The common denominator in it all was Bonnie.

"Don't have to do what?" Elena chimed in seemingly unaware of Damon's cold demeanor or just choosing to pretend it didn't bother her.

"We were just telling Damon that he doesn't have to be jealous about Bonnie and I, and he won't have to fight to the death to defend her honor from me," Stefan threw down the gauntlet and in a way exposed part of Bonnie and Damon's secret, which he could tell by the way Bonnie was now casting hurt and angry eyes at him, she did not appreciate one bit. He couldn't help himself, he honestly just wanted Bonnie to see for herself that her forget spell hadn't dispelled Damon's feeling for her. Damon had always been the type to wear his heart on his sleeve. It just wasn't in his nature to hide ow he felt for a woman, particularly if he thought some other man might be trying to lay claims on her.

"Huh, what are you talking about?" Elena countered as her face bunched up in confusing. Bonnie turned in her seat to face her friend about to explain that it was nothing, just them being silly. But Damon cut her off.

"Haven't you rekindled things with Caroline?" Damon asked as he shoved himself from the door nonchalantly shoving Elena away in the process. She didn't seem to even noticed as she was so focused on trying to understand what was going on. He then moved to the fridge, opened it, grabbed a canned soda, and closed the door of the fridge again. "And Bon-Bon, I know she wouldn't appreciate you making moves on her guy, you know how sensitive she can be," He added as he looked directly at her, popped the lid of the soda, and took a sip. It was abundantly obvious to both Bonnie and Stefan that he was trying to guilt trip Bonnie into not trying anything with Stefan.

"How are things with you and Caroline these days, Stefan?" Bonnie asked as she looked over to him. He instantly noted the playful look in her eyes and he had to fight back the smile that wanted to spread across his face. She wanted to ruffle Damon's feathers and he was totally game.

"Actually, we've recently decided to see other people," Stefan lied and Damon choked a little on the soda he had swallowed as Elena's expression shifted from confused to surprise as Caroline hadn't mentioned there were issues between, she and Stefan, but then again she hadn't talked about their relationship much at all.

"Oh, I guess she wouldn't be bothered then, huh?" Bonnie said as she looked back over at Damon.

"Bothered by what, exactly?" Damon asked in a snappy tone that had them all eyeing him curiously. Stefan could tell that things were getting heavy and so he decided to end it.

"You tell us, you were the one who came in like some jealous boyfriend, throwing accusations about Bonnie and I," He said. "And we are just friends by the way. Also, Caroline and I are still together, if that makes you feel better."

"But even if you and Caroline weren't together and you and Bonnie were fooling around it would be none of Damon's business," This time Elena's voice cut in and it was laced with irritation which could be heard by the others. She stood with her arms across her chest as she cast hard eyes onto Damon. "Damon, do you have a thing for Bonnie?" She asked point blank and Bonnie nearly fell out of her chair. Stefan shot his hand out to steady her and to still her. She locked her wide fright filled eyes onto him. He simply shook his head at her and willed her to just sit quietly. "Is that what has been going on since I woke up? Is that why you don't seem interested in me sexually anymore? Did you develop romantic feelings towards Bonnie while I was sleeping?" Damon couldn't meet her eyes as he stood silent. The silence that had filled the room was deafening to Bonnie as she waited with bated breath for him to deny Elena's claims, but she could see it in the way he hung his head and averted his eyes not only from Elena but also from her. He wasn't going to deny it.

"No," Bonnie shook her head as she looked at Stefan once more. "I can't do this," she added as she stood from the stool. Stefan tightened his hold on her arm as he also stood before her. Both Damon and Elena quietly watched them perplexed.

"You don't have to do this Bonnie, please," He said in desperation as he already knew what she was planning as his eyes fell to her mouth, where she moved her lips and whispered out a spell. Everybody in the room, except Bonnie, stood as if frozen in time. She pulled from Stefan's grasp and then leaned in and whispered a spell into his ear. She then moved to Elena and whispered a spell to her. Finally, she stepped to Damon, stood up on her tip toes, placed a gentle kiss upon his lips, and then whispered a spell to him. She moved to the exit, paused, and looked once more to her frozen friends. "I'm so sorry," She spoke even though no one else would hear her and then walked out of the kitchen, through the foyer, and out the door. The trio standing frozen in the kitchen remained that way for the near 20 minutes it took Bonnie to drive far enough away. Suddenly, their eyes flashed amber and they could move again.

"What, was I saying?" Elena was the first to speak as she searched her mind to conjure up her last thoughts as the two vampires in the room looked at the other a little confused. "Oh right, I was asking you about how things with you and Caroline were going," She continued as she stepped to the island where Stefan sat. She reached down and picked a sliced carrot from the salad that was on the lone plate settled on the countertop. "Is she here?"

"What … who?" Stefan countered as he shook his head slightly to clear his thought.

"Caroline, is she here?"

"Oh, uhm, no. She actually is spending the day with the twins. She said something about taking them to the spa," He answered.

"Then who were you having lunch with?" Elena continued her interrogation as she pointed at the extra plate of food.

"Uh, I actually don't know," Stefan answered as he, Elena, and Damon stared at the plate for a moment baffled.

"I'm sorry your date stood you up little brother," Damon said with a shrug as he moved to Elena. "But if you'll excuse us, I'm taking 'my' date upstairs to ravage her," He announced as he grasped her and easily lifted her, and tossed her over his shoulder in a fireman's carry style and flashed a giggling Elena out of the room. Stefan only allowed himself a second to roll his eyes and smirk at his brother's antics before his eyes and thoughts focused back on to that extra plate of food beside him. Who had he made it for, he wondered?

* * *

**Upstairs**

* * *

They had divested themselves of most of their clothes before they had even settled onto the bed. Their kisses were deep but to Damon not deep enough. He groped her body everywhere but felt like he needed more. He internally cursed himself about the way he was currently feeling. Why did he have this beautiful woman who he had always desired from the second he had laid eyes on her, wiggling naked beneath him, but it wasn't enough to arouse him. With his flaccid member pressed between their inner thighs, he tried to invoke images in his mind of making love to her. But the images that played behind his closed eyes made him snap his eyes open, quickly pull from Elena's warm embrace, and scramble from the bed. His dick was now fully erect.

"Damon, what's wrong?" A breathy and very horny Elena called out to him from the bed as he backpedaled more to the door. He grabbed up his pants and shirt along the way.

"I … I don't know, I suddenly don't feel …" He began to speak but fumbled over the words as the images of Bonnie Bennett giving him pleasure as he had never known continued to flash in his head.

"You don't feel like making love to me?" A heartbroken Elena asked pitifully as she grasped the bedding and pulled it up to cover her body. She wasn't only exposed but, in that moment, she felt so vulnerable before him. "What's happened to you, Damon? What's happened to us?" She questioned as tears now slid from her eyes. "What is it, you don't love me anymore? Is there someone else?"

"I love you Elena, I do. It's … It's me, something I'm going through and it's nothing you've done," Damon answered as honestly as he could as he wasn't quite so sure about what it was that was happening himself.

"Wow, did you really just say, 'Elena, it's me not you' like you're trying to break up with me?" She replied as she jumped from the bed and began yanking up her clothes and putting them back on. "And you didn't answer my other question, is there someone else that you'd rather be sharing your bed with, because you sure as hell haven't wanted me in it since I woke up?" She asked again as she stood at the foot of the bed now wearing her summer dress. She crossed her arms across her chest in a defensive manner and she waited to hear his response. Damon stared at her dead on but he said nothing. "Oh God," She sobbed out as she sat down on the foot of the bed with her hand clutched to her chest. "There is someone else, someone else you want to be with," Elena had worded it in a way that left no room for argument. It hadn't been her asking him or accusing him, it had just been her stating what she felt to be a fact. Damon's face took on a surprised look because it was that very moment that he had an epiphany, and it shook him to his core.

"I'm sorry, Elena, I'm so sorry," He said.

"Do you love her," She asked as she closed her eyes a moment to compose herself before she looked up at him once more. "It's, Bonnie, isn't it?" She probed more finally vocalizing the thoughts and fears she had been having since she woke up. He said nothing in response. "Are you in love with her, Damon?" She spoke more softly and there it was. The speculations and suspicions were all finally clear to her. The way they would whisper intimately to one another even when surrounded by all of their friends. The fleeting touches and brushes against one another that they didn't even seem to be aware they were doing, which always made her feel like some voyeur when she would witness it. And how Bonnie could make Damon laugh so hard and to the point he was clutching his sides and gasping for air that he didn't really need. But what made it most obvious to her even though Elena had tried to convince herself it was nothing, it was just because she had been away for so long and Bonnie was all he had. It was the way that Damon looked at Bonnie when Bonnie wasn't aware, and particularly whenever he thought no one was watching him. The raw love, lust, and adoration that all seeped from his eyes when he watched Bonnie as if she held in her body all the things he would ever need.

"Yes, I am," He confessed what he now fully understood to be true. Elena nodded her head as she bowed it a bit and dropped her eyes down to the carpet.

"And does she love you too?" She questioned more and Damon found that he had no answer. He wasn't sure but he knew that some way, somehow, he had to figure a way to find out.

"I don't know but I do know that I want her to and I hope that she does," He figured there was no need to put up pretenses now that the truth about how he had been feeling was finally revealed. "And don't be mad at Bonnie, she did nothing wrong."

"I'm not and I never could be," Elena replied with a slight smile as she thought of her longtime friend. "How can I be mad at someone who always thinks of everyone else before herself. I've lost count of how many times she's gone without just so someone else could have. If she can find love and happiness with someone, I want that for her, really, I do," She stated and then her voice cracked and her face crumbled under the weight of her despair. "But it sucks that it's you," She croaked out as she rushed to the adjoining bathroom, closed the door behind her, slid to the floor, and cried.

Damon's chest tightened and he wanted to roar and lash out at something. He truly hated himself for being the reason that Elena was hurt and crying, but he knew that it couldn't be helped. He now knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was no longer in love with Elena and that he was crazy in love with Bonnie. It elated him and terrified him all at the same time, because what if she didn't feel the same? What if she started hating him again because he had broken Elena's heart? He suddenly felt trapped and needed to get out and get away for a while to clear his head and so he left. He just hopped into his car and took off to destinations unknown.


	5. Chapter 5

**A week later**

* * *

She stared down at her phone and the message that blared on the screen, 'We need to talk. Meet me at the cemetery. The Jones mausoleum. NOW!' and the name of the sender 'Damon'. She felt a bit sick to her stomach as she thought about what it was that he wanted to talk about so urgently. And there she stood a little past 1 am standing in a dark, fog-filled, cemetery waiting for him. It had been a week since she had cast a unique forgetting spell on Damon, Elena, and Stefan. During that time Bonnie focused on her school work in anticipation and preparation to her upcoming graduation. With just a little over a week left she would obtain her diploma and be on her flight to Paris. She simply had to bide her time and try to avoid Damon until after she had left. She was so ready to leave Mystic Falls and try to leave behind her memories of the man she truly believed she could never have for herself, that she didn't plan to walk across the stage to accept her diploma. She decided she'd just order a copy once she was settled in Paris. For the entire week, she had ignored his incessant calls and spent her nights sleeping in different motels to throw him off, and it had worked until now. The urgent tone of Damon's text had Bonnie coming to his beck and call.

"It's okay, Bonnie, you don't have to worry about some crazed serial killer coming out of the darkness to kill you," She spoke out into the night.

"No, you never have to worry about that Bon-Bon because I will always be there to save you," Damon's voice reached her before his form emerged from the darkness as the fog seemed to roll away from him. She couldn't help the thought that came to her as he approached that he was the most beautiful and deadly creature she had ever laid eyes on.

"Damon, what was so urgent that we had to meet out here in a creepy cemetery in the middle of the night?" She asked as he stalked closer to her. When it seemed as if he wasn't going to stop, she took a couple of steps backward, but he reached out, grasped her arm, and pulled her up against his chest. "Damon, what are you …. Mmmhm," Her words melted into a moan of pure bliss as he captured her mouth with his own. She knew she should have pulled away, fought off his hold on her, but she had really missed him and was starved for his taste and his touch. Instead, she pulled him closer and he lifted her into his arms. She wrapped her legs around his waist and he flashed them to the nearby mausoleum. He pressed her back against the wall, using his own weight to hold her there, but not so much as to hurt her. He pulled from the kiss only long enough the free a hand and yank the lock that secured the door. If Bonnie's need for him hadn't been so strong she would have strongly protested making out in some crypt with a bunch of long-dead people. And had Damon not been so consumed with desire for her he would have insisted that he worshipped her in a comfortable bed. At this moment, neither one cared. They came together again in a kiss as they stumbled into the smaller sized mausoleum. The second Damon settled Bonnie atop of the large concrete sarcophagus in the middle of the space they both tugged at the other's shirts until they had been removed and tossed to the dirty floor. Next went her bra and panties but they had stopped there, which left Damon with his pants and brief's down around his ankles, and Bonnie with the short dress she wore push down from the top and hiked up from the bottom. He released her lips and kissed his way down to her breasts where he took turns latching on and suckling each in turn. She squealed in her delight as she gripped both hands in his hair, held him to her chest, as she tossed her head backward and arched her back. He clutched her about the waist and yanked her to the edge of the stone coffin. Her legs opened more around his hips. Without any words needed to seek entrance or to give approval, they both surged their pelvis toward the others. Bonnie bucked under the stretching of his cock filling her as she cried out in ecstasy filled joy, while Damon growled against her chest as his mind became clouded with delirious pleasure. He lifted his head, fused his forehead to hers, and stared at her in awe. She stared back as she sobbed from her happiness.

The dawn of the new day had been announced by the slow rise of the sun before they had finally been sated enough to leave each other's arms and sneak from the crypt without being seen. When they had finished their coupling and were getting redressed Damon had tried to speak with her calling out her name gently.

"Bonnie," He spoke out from where he stood fully dressed watching her adjust the straps of her dress and then she raked her fingers through her disheveled hair. It took every power he had within him to not grab her and bury himself within her again.

"Damon, please," She had cut him off as she shook her head and looked up at him with sad but kind eyes. "It happened, it was amazing … and so beautiful," Her voice hitched a little then and he also had to swallow down a lump in his throat as she vocalized his own thoughts. Then, he held his breath in anticipation for her next words. Would she tell him that she loved him as much as he had realized in the past week that he had come to love her? "But it shouldn't have happened and it can't ever happen again. Please, let's just try to pretend that it didn't happen and for the sake of our friendship let's never talk about it," He let his head drop a bit to hide the hurt and disappointment he knew she would be able to see in his eyes. Bonnie was always so good at reading him just by looking into his eyes. She wanted to pretend that the masterpiece they had just created together hadn't happened. It had definitely been a testament to the fact that she wanted him but she seemed to have no interest in pursuing it further. This rejection from her killed him and would always be devastating for him but he would try his damnedest to respect her wishes if that was what she really wanted.

After they had climaxed the first time and before they had begun again she had wanted to ask him how he had broken her spell, but the way he had slowed his motions and the things he had whispered softly to her as he claimed her body for the second time, she knew that is actions hadn't been from rediscovery of his memories. She had thought that maybe Stefan had been right, her magic couldn't keep Damon from forgetting his feelings for her.

They said nothing more as they slowly walked through the cemetery. Damon was filled with slight hope because after the night they had shared together he was now sure that Bonnie at least desired him as much as he did her. He decided that he wouldn't ruin the moment by pressing the issue further with her, he'd bide his time, and slowly try to win her over. He reached his hand out and grasped hers and she interlocked their fingers as they slowed their steps. Neither of them truly wanted to end their rendezvous. Finally, they had made it to where Bonnie had parked her Prius. She unlocked it, opened the door, and then turned to face Damon. She opened her mouth to say goodbye but as if he hadn't wanted to hear those words from her, he quickly swooped in and kissed them from her lips. They lingered lost in the kiss for a couple of minutes before he pulled back first.

"I'll see you later. Bonnie," He said and it sounded like a declaration to her ears. She said nothing in reply but gave a nod and then got into her car, closed the door, started it up, and drove away. In her rearview mirror, she kept looking back to where he continued to stand watching her until she had completed the long stretch of gravel road that led out of the long-abandoned section of the cemetery and disappeared around a corner.

* * *

**Days later**

* * *

For the past two days, Bonnie had kept a firm hold on her cellphone and constantly checked in to make sure the volume was up and that she hadn't missed any calls or texts. She had told Damon that she didn't want to ever talk about their lovemaking in the cemetery, but she knew him well enough to know that he would slyly make an attempt to bring it up. So, she had been surprised and even a bit disappointed that he hadn't called or texted her. It was unusual for Damon to not reach out in some way at least once a day, and it was obvious to her that he was now ghosting her. Since it had happened, she had been dying to know what had brought on the sudden urge in Damon. She realized from the moment his lips touched her that that moment was one he had intended, planned even. He had set up their meeting with perfect clarification about how it would end. But why had he done it? Why had he sought her out, made such passionate love to her, and then gone back to Elena and ignored her for 2 whole days?

Bonnie knew this should have made her happy. This was what she had claimed to have wanted to happen. Damon not pursuing her sexually, her not giving in, them returning to being just friends, while Damon and Elena had their happily ever after. So, why was she so utterly miserable, angry, and jealous? Well, misery and jealousy had been her constant companion since she had woken Elena up, but she had never been angry about the fact that in the end, Elena would have Damon. That is not until now. Now that she had time to really sit and think about what Stefan had said, about whether Elena would have been such a good and gracious friend to her if the tables were turned. Bonnie knew that if Damon were her boyfriend and Elena had wanted him, Elena would have grabbed any opportunity to have him. Then, she would have just expected Bonnie to be understanding and forgiving about it, and why? Because that was the kind of person and friend Bonnie had always made herself be, that's why. She now cursed herself for being so fucking pathetic like that. Really, what right did she have to be angry at how her friends have used her for their own personal gain and always expected her to put their happiness above her own when that is what she had always voluntarily done? It was the chiming of her phone that pulled her from her deep internalizing thoughts. She had excitedly answered it before she had even checked the ID.

"Hello … Damon?" She called out and then chastised herself for sounding so needy.

"Uhm, no," Caroline's voice replied back. "This is your other best friend, who actually should be way above Damon on your besties list. Being that I've known you longer and have been your friend longer too," She added in a huff. Bonnie smiled to herself as she could imagine the true pout that was now on Caroline's face. She knew that the irritation that Caroline held towards Damon grew ten-folds once she and Damon became close friends. And Caroline had never cared to hide her disdain for the other vampire, while Damon never hid the fact that he didn't give a shit. Sometimes Bonnie found herself caught in the middle of a 'who's your bestest best friend' tug-o-war between them. And she had to admit that usually, Damon won. It wasn't that she didn't love Caroline or that the fact that she was in love with Damon held more weight. The fact of the matter was with Caroline it was mostly always all about Caroline, or something going on in her life. Yet when she was with Damon most of the time, he wanted her to do all of the talking and he'd actually listen when she had a problem and provided insight, which she truly appreciated. Bonnie thought that both of the Salvatore brothers were great listeners.

"You know I love you Care," Bonnie replied while she smiled into the phone because she knew that would be all it would take to soothe her friend. "What's up?"

"Well, Alaric has taken the girls out of town to visit some relatives for the entire weekend, and Stefan is having to stay home to play relationship therapist with Damon and Elena. Apparently, they had a falling out and Damon's been MIA for a week not answering calls. And Elena does nothing but cry. She won't tell me what happened. I swear their turbulent relationship might just be the end of my happy one with Stefan. Anyway, I need to get out of here for a bit," Caroline said and Bonnie remained silent in shock over what she had just learned. Was that why he had staged their rendezvous in the cemetery. She didn't dare ask Caroline any further details because Caroline was just too suspicious and so clever that she would have figured out Bonnie's secret in no time. "So, I am free and it dawned on me that you and I are long overdue for a girl's night out. Just you and me so we can catch up. I know everything has been so hectic what with you being back in college about to graduate and me being a single mom now. But I really do miss us just getting together and hanging out, you know?"

Yeah, I've missed that too," Bonnie agreed and she truly had. Even though Caroline usually used the time to talk about herself or some boy she was into at the time, Bonnie had always welcomed hearing about the dramas in Caroline's life, because it always made her feel less stressed about her own dramas. She really needed that kind of distraction now. "What did you have in mind?"

"It's open mic night at the Grill," Caroline answered and Bonnie could hear her excitement through the phone. "You can read poetry or sing one of your favorite songs. And you have an amazing singing voice, Bonnie," It was true she did and everyone who heard her sing would always reiterate that fact to her. There had even been a few people who wanted to manage her and try to get her a record deal, but she wasn't interested in ever having that kind of attention on herself, given what she was and who her friends were.

"Okay, it's nearly 7 o'clock now. I'll try to find something to wear, get all dolled up, and meet you there at 8:30. Sound good?"

"Perfect, and Bonnie, do not wear your usual college girl attire. Pick something really sexy and for the make-up something smoky and sultry," Caroline offered and Bonnie frowned up a bit.

"Caroline, you aren't trying to hook me up on some blind date, are you?" Bonnie genuinely began to worry.

"No, but it wouldn't kill you to try to meet someone tonight, even if it's just a one-night stand type of a thing," She replied. "Look, Bonnie, I know that Enzo was a great love of your life, but he's gone and he's not coming back. You know that."

"Yeah," Bonnie said as she shut her eyes at hearing his name. No matter what she still missed him deeply. "I know."

"Good, so it's time for you to go out and find another great love, Bon. You deserve it more than anyone, and he's out there waiting for you."

"Wh … what if he's already someone else's great love?" She asked as she tested the waters a little just to gauge Caroline's reaction and garner some advice. One thing Caroline was good for is giving you her honest opinion even when you never asked for it.

"All's fair in love and war, sweetie," Caroline stated. "Now, I'm not saying go out and scheme to steal somebody else's man from them, but hey, if he's willing and able, go for it. Unless, it's Stefan," She quickly corrected. "It's not Stefan is it?"

"No, Caroline. It was just a hypothetical question," Bonnie lied. "Besides, I would never trust Stefan enough to ever fall for him. Not after Enzo. I mean, I have forgiven him but …"

"You'll never be able to forget it," Caroline sighed out finishing Bonnie's thoughts accurately. "Don't worry Bonnie, you'll find that Mr. Right and maybe he'll be in the audience tonight. So, think of a good song to sing. All right, I better start getting ready, this perfection is not easy," She said around a giggle which Bonnie matched with one of her own. "I'll see you at 8:30."

"See you there, Care," She replied and then disconnected the call. Maybe Caroline was right, maybe she just needed to look elsewhere for her great love, then hopefully her heart will forget about Damon.


	6. Chapter 6

9 pm at the Mystic Grill

* * *

Both Bonnie and Caroline had arrived at the Grill at 8:30, as planned. They were surprised to see that the parking lot was so packed and even more surprised at how crowded it was inside, so much so that people were standing up along the walls because there were no more tables available. Caroline was so happy that she had called ahead a made arrangements to have a table saved for her and Bonnie, which is where they currently sat enjoying the entertaining performance. Bonnie was trying to ignore all of the attention she was attracting by nearly every guy who laid eyes on her. However, Caroline immediately took note.

"I must say, Miss Bennett when I said to wear something sexy and make yourself up with a sultry look, you far exceeded my expectations. Wow!" Caroline complimented which caused Bonnie to blush a little as she giggled. "And you will teach me how to do those smoky eyes. Hot damn, girl, you have got every guy in here drooling over you, and all the girls they came here with are hating on you," She said with a teasing smile though her assessment was spot on.

"Up next Ms. Bonnie Bennett," The male DJ who was hosting the party spoke out from the stage and the room erupted in claps and whistles as mostly everyone there were townies and knew who she was.

"Go knock'em dead," Caroline whispered as she tossed out a wink. Bonnie smiled and gave her a curt nod as she stood from her seat and made her way to the stage. The crowd of mostly men parted as if they were bowing down to her beauty, and tonight she had accentuated her natural beauty in every way. From the skin-tight red satin dress she wore with its bustier top that hugged her so snuggly it made her breast look twice their actual size. She complimented the red of her dress with her smoky eye make-up and matching red lipstick. Her hair she wore in a wavy parted on one side style that would have made even Veronica Lake envious. And she looked like she had stepped right out of a fashion magazine or off the silver screen. When she had reached the stage several of the men standing around stepped up offering her their hand, she grasped the one closest, whispered a thank you, and allowed him to walk her up the steps and onto the stage. He then lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles softly. This got another wave of applauds and whistles from the crowd, even from the most envious in the crowd. Except for one guy who stood just off to the right of the stage watching with murder in his eyes and a glass of bourbon in his hand. He let his eyes track the man who had helped Bonnie onto the stage, and who now stood receiving slaps on his back from other guys who stood around him. He wanted to go rip the guy's heart out and he started calculating a plan in his head to do just that, right then and there in the middle of the crowded room. That was until Bonnie's voice recaptured his attention.

"This is a song by one of my favorite singers," Bonnie spoke and Damon could feel himself harden as he looked at her. It was not just from how strikingly and breathtakingly beautiful she looked, as he had always thought her gorgeous. But tonight, she exuded a femme fatale air about her, and she definitely could have any and every man and several women in the room falling at her feet to worship her. And Damon knew he'd be the first to step up with offerings. "To anyone out there who thinks that they have found that special somebody and you're not sure if they feel the same or you're just too afraid to pursue it, this song is for you," She ended and bowed her head as the backtrack of the music and background vocals began to play. Then Bonnie began to sing.

_Moment of honesty__  
Someone's gotta take the lead tonight  
Whose it gonna be?  
I'm gonna sit right here  
And tell you all that comes to me  
If you have something to say  
You should say it right now  
(You should say it right now)  
You ready?_

_You give me a feeling that I've never felt before__  
And I deserve it, I think I deserve it_

_(I deserve it, I think I deserve it … Let it go)  
It's becoming something that's impossible to ignore  
And I can't take it_

_(I can't take it)_

_I was wondering maybe  
Could I make you my baby  
If we do the unthinkable_

_Would it make us look crazy__  
If you ask me, I'm ready (Echo: I'm ready, I'm ready)  
If you ask me, I'm ready (Echo: I'm ready, I'm ready)_

Damon stood listening to the words and he knew without a doubt that she was singing them about him. He was also quite sure that she was not aware that he was so close by watching and listening to her, which made what she sang even more poignant. She was singing her heart out to a crowd of strangers and none would be the wiser that she was telling them her secrets, but now he knew them.

_I know you once said to me  
This is exactly how it should feel when it's meant to be  
Time is only wasting so why wait for eventually  
If we gon' do something about it  
We should do it right now  
(We should do it right now)_

_You give me a feeling that I never felt before  
And I deserve it, I know I deserve it_

_(I deserve it, I know I deserve it … Let it go)  
It's become something that's impossible to ignore  
It is what we make it (It is what we make it)_

_I was wondering maybe  
Could I make you my baby  
If we do the unthinkable  
Would it make us look crazy  
Or would it be so beautiful  
Either way I'm sayin'  
If you ask me I'm ready (Echo: I'm ready, I'm ready)  
If you ask me I'm ready (Echo I'm ready, I'm ready)_

He was mesmerized by the lyrics because they perfectly articulated thoughts and feelings he had been having for a while now. But he had kept them all to himself because these were feelings he felt towards Bonnie, who up until that moment he was sure didn't feel the same way about him. In fact, he would have sworn to God himself that she didn't feel for him as he had for her. Yet there she stood up there telling him that she loved him and wanted to be with him. If this was how she felt how could he have been so blind to it when it was exactly how he felt too? Why had he missed seeing it in her? He had never been the kind to be obtuse, particularly when it came to the women, he found himself involved with. That is unless they had tricked him in some way. At that moment it clicked in his brain and he snapped his eyes up to Bonnie's and even though he knew she wouldn't have been able to see him in the crowd from behind the spotlight shining on her, she was still looking directly at where he stood. And he finally understood why he had been feeling the way he had for the past couple of weeks like he was in a fog. That there was something on the tip of his tongue he wanted to say but for the life of him, he couldn't recall what it was. It also explained why she had been acting the way she had with avoiding him. She felt guilty for something she'd done to him.

_Why give up before we try  
Feel the lows before the highs  
Clip our wings before we fly away (fly away)  
I can't say I came prepared  
I'm suspended it the air  
Won't you come be in the sky with me_

_I was wondering maybe  
Could I make you my baby  
If we do the unthinkable  
Will it make us look crazy  
Or would it be so beautiful  
Either way I'm sayin  
If you ask me I'm ready (Echo: I'm ready)  
If you ask me I'm ready (Echo: I'm ready)  
If you ask me I'm ready (Echo: I'm ready)  
If you ask me I'm ready (Echo: I'm ready)_

Before the music had even stopped practically every patron in the bar were on their feet, clapping, whistling, and yelling to praise Bonnie's performance. Even Damon clapped as he moved stealthily through the crowd. He moved to the stage and up the few steps. He grasped her hand and she smiled kindly before she looked up at the gentlemen who was helping her. She faltered a bit as she blinked back at him while allowing him to help her step down, and then he maneuvered them out the side exit near the stage before Caroline could spot them. Once they were outside Damon released her hand and took a couple of steps away from her keeping his back to her. She was happy to see him but could tell that there was something wrong. She waited silently for him to speak first. After a moment more he turned to her and spoke.

"It didn't work, Bonnie," He spat out and she could now see in his eyes that he was mad and it was directed at her. She didn't dare reply. She already knew what he was referring to and she wouldn't enrage him further by trying to lie or deny it. "You did some kind of spell on me didn't you?" She dropped her eyes down to the rough black asphalt that was spread out through the parking lot. Still, she said nothing as tears formed in her eyes and then spilled down across her cheek. "You had no right to manipulate me like that. And don't you dare," His voice grew louder as he took a step towards her and pointed his finger at her. "Look at me," He commanded and she quickly looked up and locked her eyes onto his. "Don't you dare stand there crying and looking pitiful as if you were the one wronged here. I'm not going to buckle this time just because it eviscerates my insides to see you crying. No, not this time my little witch," He stated even as the fight and anger he had in him mere seconds before was already dissipating as he watched her shoulders shaking slightly as she cried. "Fuuuuck!" He roared as she started to bawl more loudly and uncontrollably. He hurried to her, wrapped his arm around her, and stroked her hair to console her. "Okay, stop it now," He spoke in a hushed tone while he pressed his lips against her temple. "It's all right Bon-Bon, don't cry."

"No," She sobbed out around sniffles as she continued to cry against his chest. She felt so guilty that although she loved the feel of his arms around her, she wouldn't allow herself to reciprocate in any way. "I…it…it's not all right. I did do a forget spell on you not once but twice. I was wrong, Damon, and I am so sorry. I was just being selfish."

"Shush and don't lie," He replied. "You're the most unselfish person I know. I know that what you did had nothing to do with you, or me even. It was all for Elena. I get it. Hell, I've spent most of my time since I met her doing the same. Making everything all about Elena. Mind you I am very selfish. Seriously, if you looked that word up in the dictionary, you'd see a picture of my devilishly handsome face next to it," He joked and got the desired effect when he heard her giggle a little through her sobs. "I never gave a fuck about anyone else, how they felt, what they thought if they died. So, long as Elena was safe and happy nothing else mattered. Then came along a Bennett witch to muck it all up for me, 'again'. The story of my life," He said with a smirk. "Bonnie, you made me realize that my existence didn't have to revolve around Elena, that she's not my moral compass. And that I could be a good man, a better man and not to just gain favors with her but because I chose to be. That was a fucking revelation to me. For the first time in a long time, someone was saying, 'I know you've done bad things but that's not who or what you are anymore. I believe in you Damon, you're a good man, and I know you will do the right thing'. No one else, not Elena, not even Stefan has ever said that to me and really meant it, but you do," He spoke this as he pulled back from their embrace so he could look at her head-on. He grasped her face into his hand and lifted it up until she was looking at him. And even with her mascara streaking down her face she was still so beautiful he thought. "You are my very best friend and the person I love more than anyone else, because no matter what I've done in my past or the stupid things I still tend to do and will like continue to do, you have faith in me, and I know you'd never give up on me."

"That's because I can see how you've changed, Damon. Your love for Elena has changed you," Bonnie replied as her tears subsided. He growled a little as he let his head fall back.

"Lord, woman, didn't you hear anything I just said? I didn't change because of Elena. I didn't change for her because I didn't have to. If I do some pretty heinous shit all I have to do is say sorry to her and play it up like, I wasn't really bad, it was just my nature because I'm a vampire," Bonnie rolled her eyes slightly at that. "Exactly, you see through all that bullshit, and you usually call me out on it. I couldn't hide from you. So, if anybody's changed me it's you. I never want to disappoint you, Bon-Bon," He said as he brushed his knuckles across her cheek lovingly. "And by the way, I want them all back," He added out of nowhere and she looked at him confusingly. "My memories," He answered the question in her eyes and then she nodded her understanding.

"Exsertus," Bonnie chanted out and Damon's eyes flashed amber as all of his true memories came flooding back to him. He stumbled a bit and gasped out to try to catch his breath, while Bonnie gripped him with her hands to steady him. "Are you okay?" She asked and he looked at her as if he hadn't seen her for a long time.

"Do you love me?" He asked her point blank and caused her to stand before him looking like a fish out of water, unsure of what to say. "It's not a trick question, Bonnie. I can tell you without a doubt or hesitation that I love you more than anything or anyone I have ever loved before. But do you love me the same way? Please, tell me honestly because I need to know the truth."

"Yes," She said as she nodded her head. "I do love you, Damon. No matter how hard I've tried not to, I just can't stop loving you," He chuckled out a laugh, gave a silent prayer of thanks, and then cupped her face in both his hands and pulled her into a deep sensuous kiss. She happily gave herself over to the kiss and she kissed him back in kind. For them both it was pure heaven but it would have look carnal and primal to an onlooker, such as Caroline Forbes who stood just outside the exit door watching them horror struck.

"What the holy fuck!?" She cried out and the lovers hastily pulled from their kiss. They both turned to stare at the blonde before them. Her face was contorted and she looked as if she had taken in the foulest, rancid, decaying smell ever. "Oh God, please tell me this isn't happening," She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. "I'm just asleep right now, having a terrible nightmare, and when I open my eyes it will all be over."

"Jesus, has she always been this dramatic?" Damon questioned as he frowned up as if he were disgusted.

"Yes," Bonnie answered smiling as they both stood watching Caroline.

"I'm going to count to three and then open my eyes, and when I do, I know that Bonnie Bennett will not be out here kissing Damon Salvatore. One, two, three," She counted and right before she opened her eyes Damon flashed to kiss Bonnie again. "Ewwww, stop it!" She commanded as she stamped her foot. Damon pulled from the kiss and smiled widely over at Caroline. "What is going on, what are you doing, Bonnie?"

"It's kind of a long story, Care," Bonnie answered as she wiped at her still wet face.

"And also, none of your business," Damon added as he grasped Bonnie's hand and began to walk her away.

"Wait, where are you going?" Caroline called after them as Bonnie turned back to her friend and mouth sorry and held her hand up to her ear to indicate she'd call Caroline later.

"Paris, France," Damon yelled back to her never turning back to look at her as he kept walking forward with determination while he kept a tight hold on Bonnie's hand as she stumbled a bit over what he had said.

"What?" She spoke out to him as she quickened her pace to keep up with him better. "We're going to Paris?"

"Yeah, that was the plan, right?" He said as he cast her a glance but continued on to where he had parked his Camaro. He'd bring her back tomorrow to pick up her car. "He had said that as soon as you graduate, we'd hop the first plane to Paris. Well, you graduate next week so that doesn't leave us much time to plan our trip."

"But Damon-"

"Yes. We broke up over a week ago, and I really don't care. He'll manage," He cut off what she was about to say with a string of sentences and then said no more. She eyed him for a second before she spoke again.

"What?" She said thoroughly lost by what he had just said.

"You were about to bore me with questions like, "Are you serious?', 'But what about Elena?', 'And what about Stefan?'," He sing-sung this in a girlish tone. "Those were my answers. Don't fight me on this Bonnie. You love me, I love you, and casting a spell 'twice' to try and make me forget didn't work. So, just see it for what it is, it's fate and you can't fight fate."

"So, you think we're destined to be together?" She asked in a playful tone but really wanted to know if he really felt this way.

"No, I 'know' that we are," He smirked down at her, lifted the hand that he still held up to his mouth, and kissed it. They had arrived at his car. He unlocked it, opened the passenger side door and ushered her in the seat. He then closed the door, made his way around to the driver's side. He took a moment to smirk and wiggle his fingers in a wave at Caroline, who still stood near the back exit watching them in disbelief. He then opened the car door, got inside, cranked the car up, and drove away. They didn't have a sunset to drive off into. However, there was a full moon shining bright in the night's sky, and to them, that was just as good.

**THE END**

*Song: 'Unthinkable', by Alicia Keys*


End file.
